The Dark Side of the Truffle Trade

The high-end [truffle] industry has spawned a shadowy underworld, where tax evasion, nighttime heists, counterfeits, and sabotage are not uncommon. The schemes span continents and truffle types, but all of them boil down to scarcity and cash. â€œYou know, itâ€™s a short season. And for some people that make their profit within very tiny windows of the span of an entire 12 months, itâ€™s very important that theyâ€™re making the best out of it,â€ Trabocchi said. â€œTherefore, sometimes, maybe [cash motivates] people to do things that are not completely legitimate.â€